Front loading variable depth picture frame

ABSTRACT

A framework structure is provided whereby pictures may be mounted through the frontal plane of a quadrilateral frame, with bracket means being provided upon the frame for attachment to the rear side of the picture. The bracket means are adjustably spaced relative to the frontal plane of the frame to enable adjustability of the picture relative to the frontal plane of the frame.

United States Patent 1191 Rochman [541 FRONT LOADING VARIABLE DEPTH PICTURE FRAME [76] Inventor: Arnold Rochman, 3636 16th Street N.W., Washington, DC. 20010 22 Filed: Dec. 14, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 97,578

[52] U5. Cl ..40/l52 [51] Int. Cl ..G09f 1/12 [58] Field of Search ..40/10,152,152.1,156

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,582,865 4/1926 Bristol ..40/l56 X 3,137,955 6/1964 Villani ..40/l0 R X 481,117 8/1892 Naegele ..40/l56 m1 13,715,824 [451 Feb. 113,1973

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 491,031 2/1930 Germany .40/ l 52 Primary Examiner-Jerome Schnall Assistant ExaminerWenceslao .1. Contreras Attorney-Hubbell, Cohen & Stiefel [57] ABSTRACT A framework structure is provided whereby pictures may be mounted through the frontal plane of a quadrilateral frame, with bracket means being provided upon the frame for attachment to the rear side of the picture. The bracket means are adjustably spaced relative to the frontal plane of the frame to enable adjustability of the picture relative to the frontal plane of the frame.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures r PATENTED FEB 1 3 I975 INVENTOR ARNOLD ROCHMAN BY g ZZ ATTORNEYS.

FRONT LOADING VARIABLE DEPTH PICTURE FRAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to picture frames, and more particularly to the structure of a framework for mounting paintings and the like.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art It has been common practice to mount paintings or pictures within a frame by insertion of the picture to be viewed from the rear of the frame. Normally, in such an arrangement the frame will define an inner edge which will extend to within the outer periphery of the picture to be viewed thereby covering or obstructing a portion of the viewing surface.

Additionally, the means whereby the picture is secured to the frame in such an arrangement may, of necessity, involve a cumbersome structure and procedure.

Usually, a picture as an oil painting or the like, is stretched across a quadrilateral wooden brace. Such wooden braces will usually involve a relatively substantial thickness dimension and, accordingly, it may be required with a rear loading frame arrangement that portions of the brace, and perhaps of the picture itself, extend rearwardly from the frame. This may complicate the manner whereby the picture is secured to the frame, as well as introducing potential inconvenience and awkwardness when it is desired to hang the picture upon a vertical wall. Since it would not be possible to effect mounting of the picture to the frame by means which would extend through or deface the front surface of the picture, attachment of the picture to the frame may be generally difficult to accomplish and inconvenient to maintain. Furthermore, in such prior art devices, the picture is mounted in a fixed position relative to the frame with no opportunity to adjust or vary this relationship.

Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide means for framing a picture to be viewed whereby mounting could be accomplished in a simple and convenient manner while enabling viewing of the entire front surface of the picture to be displayed without covering or obscuring any portion thereof. Furthermore, it would be of significance if such a framework structure were to comprise an arrangement which was simple to manufacture and not prohibitively expensive with regard to pricing, and which would also allow adjustability of the relative positioning between picture and frame to enable alteration of the general effect created.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, the present invention may be defined as a framework structure for mounting pictures comprising a frame defining a quadrilateral opening and a frontal plane, support brackets mounted upon said frame a predetermined distance from said frontal plane and extending into said quadrilateral opening from at least two sides thereof, and means for'attaching a picture to said support brackets in a position within said quadrilateral opening.

The picture may be front-loaded into the frame and attached to the support brackets atthe rear surface of the picture. In the arrangement of the invention, the

frame means will extend about the outer periphery of the picture without necessitating intrusion to within the boundaries thereof, thereby enabling viewing of the picture in its entirety. By an important aspect of the invention, the support brackets are adjustably mounted upon the frame to enable adjustment of the position of the front surface of the picture relative to the frontal plane of the frame, to either forwardly or rearwardly thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A better understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective showing the assembled framework structure of the present invention with a picture mounted therein;

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective of the rear of the framework structure of the invention showing the support brackets upon which the picture, is attached; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing the relative spacing between the picture and portions of the framework.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, the invention is shown as embodied in a framework structure within which there is mounted a picture 10, which may comprise an oil painting or the like. A frame 12 defining a quadrilateral opening 29 extends about the outer periphery of the picture 10 in a closely fitted manner with the picture 10 being positioned within the quadrilateral opening 29 and extending forwardly of the frame 12 for a distance 14 defined between the front face of the picture 10 and a frontal plane 16 defined by the frame 12.

The frame 12 may be comprised of four rectangular elongated members 18, 20, 22 and 24 which may be in-' terconnected at their ends by connection means such as screws 26 and 28 extending through one rectangular elongated member and into another adjacent member to effect a connection therebetween. A pair of screws 26 and 28 may be provided at each of the four corners of the quadrilateral frame 12. i

It will be apparent that the frame 12 will enclose the quadrilateral opening 29 which will be defined by the inner surfaces of the rectangular elongated members 18, 20, 22 and 24, i.e. the surface 30 of member 18, the surface 32 of member 20, the surface 34 of member 22, and the surface 36 of member 24.

A pair of support brackets 38 and 40 are mounted upon the frame 12 to extend to within the quadrilateral opening 29. The support brackets 38 and 40 comprise an elongated L shaped configuration, and in the specific embodiment of the invention described herein the support bracket 38 is attached to the elongated member 20 with the support bracket 40 being attached to the elongated member 24. The support brackets 38 and 40 each comprise, respectively, a pair of perpendicularly extending legs 42, 44 and 46 and 48, and each of the perpendicularly extending legs comprise a pair of elongated slots 50. The bracket 38 is attached to the frame 12 by a pair of screws 52 which extend through the slots 50 in leg 42 and are conventionally threaded for engagement into elongated member 20. Leg 46 of support bracket 40 is similarly attached to elongated member 24 of frame 12, and it will be apparent that by loosening the screws 50 the support brackets 38 and 40 may be adjusted in a manner whereby the legs 44 and 48 may be moved toward or away from the frontal plane 16 by adjusting the position of the screws 52 within the elongated slots 50. Of course, the screws 52 may subsequently be tightened in order to hold the brackets 38 and 40 in the desired position.

The picture 10, which in the embodiment described herein consists of an oil painting, comprises a canvas portion 54 and a rectangular wooden frame 56 having the canvas 54 stretched thereacross and attached thereto, for example by staples 58 extending through the outer edges of the canvas 54 and into the rearside of the wooden frame 56. The structure and arrangement of the picture is fully conventional and in widespread use.

The quadrilateral opening 29 defined by the frame 12 is sized to closely correspond with the dimensions of the outer periphery of the picture 10. It will be clear that the frame 12 may be readily adapted to define an opening 29 which will be adaptable to receive any size picture merely by an appropriate choice for the lengths of the rectangular elongated members 18, 20, 22 and 24.

The picture 10 may be readily and easily mounted to the frame 12 in a front loading manner by insertion of the picture 10 into the quadrilateral opening 29 with the rear side of the wooden frame 56 in abutment with the legs 44 and 48 of the support brackets 38 and 40. The legs 44 and 48 are each formed with a pair of elongated slots 50 extending therethrough, and the picture 10 may be securely affixed to the frame 12 by four screws 52 which extend through the elongated slots 50 in the legs 44 and 48 and are threaded to engage the wooden frame 56 through the rear surface thereof. Thus, by means of the structure described the picture 10 may be front loaded into the frame means 12 and firmly affixed to the framework structure by a simple convenient attachment to the rear side only of the wooden frame 56, with the front face of the canvas 54 extending forwardly of the frame 12 with its complete frontal surface area in view.

As previously stated, the frontal surface of the picture 10 is located at a plane which is spaced forwardly from the frontal plane 16 of the frame 12 a distance labelled 14. Variation of the distance 14 may be readily accomplished by adjustment of the relative positioning between the elongated slots 50 and the screws 52, in the manner previously described, to move the legs 44 and 48 of the brackets 38 and 40 either forwardly or rearwardly relative to the frontal plane 16 thereby to effect forward or rearward movement of the point of abutment between the rear side of the wooden frame 56 and the legs 44 and 48. Thus, it will be apparent that the juxtapositioning between the frame 12 and the picture 10 may be readily and conveniently adjusted by the mere loosening and retightening of four of the screws 52.

It should be further understood that due to the adjustability of the brackets 38 and 40 the frontal surface of the picture 10 may be moved to behind the frontal plane 16 of the frame 12. Of course, the distance behind plane 16 at which the front surface of picture 10 may be located will depend upon the depth of the members 18, 20, 22 and 24 and the size of the brackets 38 and 40, but it should be apparent that, although not de picted in the drawing, this may be readily accomplished without departure from the scope and purview of the present invention. Therefore, it will be seen that the invention may be utilized to produce a variety of different effects, such as, for example, a shadow effect with the picture 10 set back within the frame 12 with its front surface behind the plane 16.

it should also be noted that as a result of the elongated configuration of the slots 50 in the legs 44 and 48, wooden frame 56 of different widths may be mounted upon the frame means 12 by appropriate location of the screws 52 within the slots 50 to insure engagement with the body of the wooden frame 56. it should also be understood that the particular configuration of the frame 12 shown herein need not conform in an aesthetic sense to the straight rectangular configuration depicted and disclosed. For example, any appropriate ornamental accoutrement may be added to the structure shown to enhance its appearance. Furthermore, any appropriate means for interconnecting the various individual elements of the frame 12, other than the screws 26 and 28, may be appropriately utilized. Similarly, the means for attachment to the brackets 38 and 40 may comprise a variety of devices, such as nails and the like, which will be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art and which may be utilized in place of the screws 52.

Accordingly, it should be understood from the foregoing that although the present invention has been described in connection with a specific structural embodiment thereof, many variations and modifications within the knowledge of those skilled in the art are possible without departure from the scope and purview of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A framework structure for mounting pictures comprising: frame means defining a quadrilateral opening and a frontal plane; support brackets mounted upon said frame means a predetermined distance from said frontal plane and extending into said quadrilateral opening from at least two sides thereof; and means for attaching a picture at the rear side of said picture to said support brackets in a predetermined mounting position within said quadrilateral opening, said support brackets including means for varying said mounting position of a mountable picture within said frame means in a direction substantially normal to the location of said frame frontal plane, said means varying said predetermined distance in accordance with said variation in said mounting position.

2. A framework structure according to claim 1 wherein said support brackets comprise an L shaped configuration of leg members, each of said leg members having a slot therein extending in the direction of variation of said position and a locking means releasably engageable with said slot for releasably enabling said variation in position.

3. A framework structure according to claim 2 wherein said support brackets comprise a pair of elongated channels having an L shaped cross sectional configuration defining a first and a second leg, with each of said channels having one leg attached to said frame means on opposite sides of said quadrilateral opening and the other leg extending perpendicularly therefrom into said quadrilateral opening, said legs of said channels extending into said quadrilateral opening being attached to the rearside of the picture mounted within said frame means for viewing.

4. A framework structure according to claim 1 wherein said support brackets include a slot extending in the direction of variation of said mounting position and a locking means releasably engageable with said slot for enabling movement of said support brackets from said predetermined position and fixing of said 

1. A framework structure for mounting pictures comprising: frame means defining a quadrilateral opening and a frontal plane; support brackets mounted upon said frame means a predetermined distance from said frontal plane and extending into said quadrilateral opening from at least two sides thereof; and means for attaching a picture at the rear side of said picture to said support brackets in a predetermined mounting position within said quadrilateral opening, said support brackets including means for varying said mounting position of a mountable picture within said frame means in a direction substantially normal to the location of said frame frontal plane, said means varying said predetermined distance in accordance with said variation in said mounting position.
 1. A framework structure for mounting pictures comprising: frame means defining a quadrilateral opening and a frontal plane; support brackets mounted upon said frame means a predetermined distance from said frontal plane and extending into said quadrilateral opening from at least two sides thereof; and means for attaching a picture at the rear side of said picture to said support brackets in a predetermined mounting position within said quadrilateral opening, said support brackets including means for varying said mounting position of a mountable picture within said frame means in a direction substantially normal to the location of said frame frontal plane, said means varying said predetermined distance in accordance with said variation in said mounting position.
 2. A framework structure according to claim 1 wherein said support brackets comprise an L shaped configuration of leg members, each of said leg members having a slot therein extending in the direction of variation of said position and a locking means releasably engageable with said slot for releasably enabling said variation in position.
 3. A framework structure according to claim 2 wherein said support brackets comprise a pair of elongated channels having an L shaped cross sectional configuration defining a first and a second leg, with each of said channels having one leg attached to said frame means on opposite sides of said quadrilateral opening and the other leg extending perpendicularly therefrom into said quadrilateral opening, said legs of said channels extending into said quadrilateral opening being attached to the rearside of the picture mounted within said frame means for viewing.
 4. A framework structure according to claim 1 wherein said support brackets include a slot extending in the direction of variation of said mounting position and a locking means releasably engageable with said slot for enabling movement of said support brackets from said predetermined position and fixing of said brackets in a different position when said different position is obtained, the relative spacing between said picture and said frontal plane being adjustable by said movement of said support brackets.
 5. A framework structure according to claim 4 wherein said support brackets are located to mount said picture to variably extend between positions forwardly and rearwardly of said frontal plane. 